Improvement in apparatus for distilling hydrocarbons



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imm JUL 25 1871 UNITED STATES JAMES J. JOHNSTON, OF ALLEGHENY,PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING HVDROCARBONS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,425, dated July 25,1871 antedated July 13, i871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES J. JOHNSTON, of the city and county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Apparatus for Distillin g Hydrocarbon Oils; and I dodeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, ref'- erence being had to the accompanying drawing and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in a still with its heatingsurfacecorrugated and arranged at an angle of about forty-live degrees to thehorizontal plane of its lire-chamber, said corrugated surface being soconstructed as to form a series of chambers for oil, which flows fromthe upper chamber into the one next below it, and from it into the onenext below it, and thus tlow from a higher chamber into a lower oneduring the process of evolving the oil, the chambers being so arrangedwith relation to each other that the oil, in liowing from one chamber tothe other, shall, in flowing from the lower edge of one chamber into theone next below it, pass over a convexed surface in a thin sheet; andcombining with the above still a still arranged above it for heating thehydrocarbon oil and separating the benzole from it prior to its enteringthe upper chamber of the still under it, said upper heating andseparating-still being heated by the ascending heat of the still and rebelow it, and combining with said upper heating and separating still atank for separating the hydrocarbon oil from the water that may be init, and the gasoline from the oil, prior to its entering the heating'and'separating-still, the contents of said tank being heated bycirculating the oil and the water that may be in it through pipestraversing backward and forward through the lire-chamber connected withthe stills.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe more fully its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawing which formspart of my specification, Figurel, Sheet A, represents a front elevation of the lower and upper stills,and the separating-tank connected therewith, and also represents avertical section of the furnace for the stills. Fig. 2, Sheet B,represents a transverse and vertical section of the lower and upperstill and furnace connected therewith.

In the accompanying drawing, A A represent the furnace-walls, and F thelire-chamber of the furnace. A represents the lower still, theheating-surface of which is corrugated, which corruabove the bottom ofthe still.

gations form a series of oil-chambers, B, B1, B2, B3, and B4. The stillmay be constructed of wrought or cast-iron, and made in two parts, asshown in the accompanying drawing, (the line of parting being at thepoints marked 3,) or it may be formed in one part, in which case itshould be constructed of wrought-iron. In the back part `of the still A,at 8, is a man-hole or door, which is used when cleaning out the still,and for other purposes which may be necessary for such opening or door.Above the still A is arranged a still, O, which is used for heating thehydrocarbon oil and separatingv the benzole from it prior to itsentering the still A. 'Through the still O passes the flue D for thelire-chamber F of the furnace. The still C is'connected with the still Aby means of a pipe, t', the upper end of which is attached to the stillC near its bottom, and the lower end of it is attached to the still A soas to communicate with the upper chamber B of still A atthe point markedX. The pipe t is provided with a stop-cock or valve, P, which is usedfor regulating the flow of oil from still O into chamber l B of thestill A. The tank E, which is used for separating the oil from the waterthat may be in it, and the gasoline from the oil, is provided with pipesg g g g, which traverse backward and forward through the fire-chamber Fof the furnace in front of the heatingsurface of the still A. Thesepipes are provided with stop-cocks or valves n and o, which are used forregulating the circulation of the oil through them. The bottom fw andtop u each forms a section of a sphere. To the center of the bottom w isattached a pipe, k, provided with a stopcock or valve, s. This pipe 7cis used for the purpose of drawing off the water when separated from theoil. The tank E is connected with the heating and separating-still C bya pipe, h, at a point which is about six inches The pipe h is attachedto the tankE alittle below the point where the top u is riveted to thecylindrical portion or body of the tank. The pipe h is provided with astop-cock or valve, m, which is used for regulating the iiow of oil fromthe tank E into the heating and separating-still C. To the lower side ofthe tank E, a little above its bottom, w', is attached a supply-pipe, J,which communicates with a supply-reservoir or tank of oil. The pipe J isproi vided with a stop-cock, R, for regulating the ow of oil from thesupply-reservoir or tank into the vapor evolved from the oil to asuitable condenser. These pipes are marked D', y, and l, and thecondensers to which they are to be attached may be made in any of theknown forms. To the chainber B4 is attached a pipe, w, provided with astopcock, a. This pipe is used for drawing off the heavy oil fromchamber B4. The pipe w may be connected with an iron tank -placed underthe ground, (or otherwise protected,) for the purpose of allowing theheavy and heated oil to iiow into it.

As the construction and arrangement of the several parts ofmy.improvement, and therelation that the various parts bear to eachother, will be readily understood from the foregoing description and byreference to the accompanying drawing, I will therefore proceed todescribe the operation of the several parts, which is as follows: Thecrude hydrocarbon oil iiows from the supplytank through pipe J into thetank E until it rises up in it a little above the pipe h. The valve m isthen opened, and oil flows from the tank E into the still C until itrises up in the still a little above the upper bend in pipe i. The valvel) is then opened, and oil iiows through pipe i' into chamber B of thestill A, and from chamber B into chamber B1, and from it. into chamberB2, and from it into chamber B3, and from it into chamber B4, and assoon as a small quantity of oil has iiowed -into chamber B4 the valve Pof pipe i and the valve R of pipe J are closed, and the valves n and oof pipes g g g g are opened, and oil will iiow into and through thesepipes. A fire is then made in the fire-chamber F. This will heat the oilin pipes g g g g, and the oil in tank E will commence circulatingthrough said pipes, and become sufliciently heated to separate the waterwhich may be in the oil (which is generally present) from it. Thespeciiic gravity of the water being greater than that of the oil, itwill settle down into the concavity ofthe bottom w of the tank E, fromwhich it is drawn off through pipe lc. When the oil in tank E issufiicientlyheated to throw off gasoline through pipe l andthe condenserconnected therewith, thc valve B of pipe J and valve P of pipe c' arepartly opened so as to allow a small iiow of oil through said pipes.This will cause a very thin sheet of oil to iiow over the conveXedsurfaces 2, between the chambers B, B1, B2, B3, and B4, and as the stillA increases its capacity in evolving the oil, in proportion can thevalves R and P be opened and the iiow of oil into the still increased.When an nndue amount of heavy oil accumulates in the chamber B4 it maybe drawn off through pipe w.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the oil is heated,and the water and gasoline separated from it in tank E. From tank E itflows into the still C; here it is heated and the benzole separated fromit. From still C it iiows into the still A, and distilled and made readyfor the process of treating it for the purpose of inaking a merchantableoil. It will also be observed that the stills A C and tank E are eachconnected to separate condensers, so that a separate product from eachis obtained, to wit: burningoil from still A, benzole from still C, andgasoline from tank E. It will be further observed that the oil issubjected to several different degrees of heat in the still A. Thisdesirable result is obtained by the use of the chambers B, B1, B2, B3,and B4, arranged one above the other, and in so arranging the iiow ofoil from one chamber to the other that it has to iiow in a broad thinsheet over the conveXed surfaces 2 between the chambers. This series ofchambers and conveXed surfaces subjects the oil to different degrees ofheat at dif-l ferent points in the still, and combines the vapor evolvedfrom the oil at the different points, so as to form a single productwhen condensed. By this arrangement of chambers and conveXed surfaces,combined with still C, tank E, and the parts connected therewith, theoil iiows in a continuous stream, and is evolved while moving in a' thinbody over a large surface in the still A, subjecting the oil graduallyto an increased degree of heat in its downwardtravel in`the still. Thiswill evolve the oil with great rapidity, and without subjecting it to anundue degree of heat, so that the product of distillation will beuniform and easily treated in the subsequent process of refining it. Thestill C is heated by the heat that ascends from the hre-chamber F andfrom the still A, and also the heat which passes upward from the firechamber, which would otherwise be wasted. The heavy oil drawn off fromchamber Bnl of the still A will be suitable for lubricating purposes, orit may be mixed with the benzole and subsequently redistilled.

The advantages of my improvement in apparatus for distillin g hydrocarbon oils, brieiiy stated, consist: First, in obtaining a greateramount of burning-oil from a given quantity of the crude oil. Second,uniformity in the product of distillation. Third, the distilled oil canbe treated at less cost. Fourth, economy in cost of apparatus fordistilling the oil. Fifth, the danger from iire is greatly diminished.Sixth, economy of time and labor in the process of distillinghydrocarbon oils.

Having thus described the nature, construction, and advantages of myimprovement, what I claim as of my invention isl. A still with acorrugated heating-surface, in which is a series of oil chamberselevated one above the other, and so arranged with relation to eachother that the oil shall iiow from the upper chamber in a broad thinsheet over a convexed surface into the chamber next below it, and thusflow down from one chamber to the other through the whole series,substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The still A, as described, combined with the still C, and a tank, E,provided with pipes g, and communicating with still C through the mediumof pipe h, and still C communicating with still A by means of pipe 1T,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JAMES J. JOHNSTON.

Vitnesses:

A. G. J oi-INsroN, Jos. H. Davis.

